A few weeks ago, I got all doom-and-gloomy,
comparing our heedless exploitation of the environment with the
Native Americans in Chaco Canyon who overpopulated their region and
over-exploited their resources until their society collapsed in
1200 A.D.

This week, let me balance things out a bit by
describing a situation that makes me cautiously optimistic about
our chances to take care of our looming environmental crises before
they take care of us. I see a ray of hope in the way Chevron
handled its oil drilling operation in Papua New Guinea.

Yes, you read that right. I'm about to praise
Chevron Oil. It should be no surprise that I don't sport a "Drill,
Baby, Drill" sticker on my back bumper. I'm no fan of Big Oil. But
I realize we're going to be using petroleum products for a long
time, so when an oil company does something right, I'm
encouraged.

A Chevron oil drilling operation in New Guinea
is described in "Collapse" by Jered Diamond, the same book my Chaco
Canyon information came from.

Diamond has spent a great deal of time in New
Guinea and is familiar with the obscene, flame-spewing,
oil-spilling sites which are all too typical of drilling operations
in the country.

But during the months he spent at this site,
he saw something different.

Diamond went as a consultant with the World
Wildlife Fund, which Chevron engaged "to prepare a large-scale
integrated conservation and development project for the whole
(Kikori River) watershed."

The first time he flew over, Diamond was
surprised to see an undisturbed expanse of rain forest and a thin
stretch of roadway. The road, he found when he landed, was only 10
yards wide, just enough space for two vehicles to pass each other
safely.

Diamond is a lifelong birder, and walking
along the roadway, he saw bird species that usually can only be
found in remote areas. They were practically tame, showing they had
not developed a fear of humans. Hunting and fishing were strictly
prohibited.

"In effect," Diamond concluded, "the Kutubu
oil field functions as by far the largest and most rigorously
controlled national park in Papua New Guinea."

The company was vigilant about employee safety
and environmental protection. Once Diamond was called into the
office and scolded for violating company rules by standing in the
roadway while observing birds. Either he could have been hit by a
vehicle, he was told, or it could have swerved to avoid him, hit a
pipeline and caused an oil spill.

I'm happy to credit Chevron with altruistic
motives for its good stewardship of the earth at this oil field,
but it's more important to understand the corporation made a wise
dollars-and-cents calculation.

Remember the Exxon Valdez oil spill? It cost
Exxon billions in cleanup and was a public relations nightmare.
Chevron decided it was better to spend tens of millions up front
rather than billions later on a preventable disaster.

And then there is the relative ease Chevron
experienced dealing with the New Guinea government, which has
become more environmentally conscious in recent years, and with
local land owners who knew Chevron was taking extraordinary
measures to prevent oil spills that might pollute their land and
water.

The reputation Chevron earned for
environmental care probably helped the company win a very
profitable contract for an oil/gas field in the North Sea off
Norway. I would like to think the losing bidders went back home,
licked their wounds and tried to figure out how they could increase
their competitiveness by adopting more environmentally friendly
practices as well.

I don't want to make too much of this, or
praise Chevron too highly. But I draw a clear lesson here: when
businesses see it's in their best interests to act responsibly,
either because of government regulation or enlightened self
interest, good old capitalism can figure out ways to live a little
lighter on the planet, and we all benefit.